Beware: VOG in Paradise

Hawaii: The weather is warm & sunny year round, right? Where is the sunshine today? Why do I see clouds billowing over the quiet seaside village on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii? This doesn't look like the Hawaiian vacation I envisioned.

The temperature is still mid-80's but the sky looks so ominous.

We learned that the threat is not an impending storm, but 3,000 tons of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide called VOG that is spewed out of the Kilauea Volcano almost on a daily basis.

VOG, a form of air pollution, similar to smog is a combination of weather, wind (speed & direction) and volcanic activity. See VOGindex. For most healthy people low levels of VOG are more annoying than life-threatening. Those who are more suspectible need to take the necessary precautions to reduce their exposure when the VOG index is elevated.

Joni--We were on a cruise ship going from island to island. We made a stop in Hilo & Kona. During the evening cruise from Hilo to Kona we saw the lava flowing into the ocean. Just awesome!

Maureen--I tried taking photos of the lava flowing into the ocean, but they did not turn out. I did purchase several that had been taken by the ship's photographer. We just hung the framed set in a prominent location in our hallway.

Valerie--Fortunately this was one of twelve days, but we learned something, too. The temperatures was mid-80's during the day and mid-70's in the evening. No humidity. Fantastic.

Toni--If our tour guide had not explained the phenomenon of VOG, we would have called it smog. We may have been vacationing, but we didn't stop learning and I told myself that I would write a blog post for AR when I returned.

Mary.....VOG is an unusual occurence as I remember from living in Hawaii. It is really noticeable when the prevelant winds stop for a short time. But think, you can't beat the temperatures and the sea food! Have a great time!

Laura--Fortunately we couldn't smell it just see it. The schools have an alert system when the VOG index is elevated. No outside recess. Just like the dangerously cold weather in the northern half of the mainland.

I hope you get to Hawaii as there is no other tropical destination quite like it. The only drawback is the longgggggggggggggggg flightttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt to get there, but next time we will break up the trip and spend several days on the west coast.

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